Cowtail holder



May 2, 1939- .1.-VAN DER MEULEN 2,156,413

' cowTAIL HOLDER Filed NQv. 17, 1957 ,j w1. A

J .'HH Hh, I l a /IHMV/ lig/Hl .M mlm/ M 9 v7 f7 Jbfm uw@ Muff/2Patented May 2, 1939 UNiTED STA'ES COWTAIL HULDER .lohn Van Dei` Meinen,Blooming Grove, N. Y. Application November 17, 1937, Serial No. 175,088

1 Claim.

This invention relates to improvements in cow tail holders.

The primary object of this invention is to provide a device of the abovementioned character which is adapted to hold a cows tail during milkingto prevent the cows tail from swishing the milker.

A further object of this invention is to provide a device of the abovementioned character capable of grasping a cows tail and holding the sameattached to one of the cows legs.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a device of theabove mentioned character in which the gripping device as applied to thecows leg is adapted to engage certain cords or nerves in the leg toprevent kicking, while the cow is being milked.

A still further object or" this invention is to provide a device whichis entirely san-itary due '20 to the fact that it is unnecessary tograsp the cows tail while applying the cow tail holder prior to themilking operation.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparentduring the course of the following description, taken with the drawing,wherein,

Figure 1 is a side elevational view of the device embodying thisinvention, illustrating the leg engaging rod;

Figure 2 is a top plan view illustrating the clamping devices for theleg and tail of the cow;

Figure 3 is an end elevational view showing the serrated clamping jawsfor engaging the cows tail;

Figure 4 is side elevational view showing the device as applied whilemilking.

In the drawing, wherein for the purpose of illustrating the inventionand wherein like reference characters will be employed to designate Ylike parts throughout the same, the reference character 5 will generallybe employed to designate the cows tail holder in general.

The invention comprises a piece of strap metal bent upon itself as at 6to form arms 'I adapted to spring together at a central portion 8 asshown clearly in Figure 2. The arms I are looped as at 9 and are bentinwardly as at I0 to form a clamping portion I I. The complementaryclamping portions I I have their meeting edges serrated as at I3 moreclearly shown in Figure 3 to securely grip the hairs of the cows tail.

A pair of leg gripping arms I4 are'formed on the clamping portions vIIand said arms I4 are arcuately curved and terminate in gripping jaws 55I5. The gripping jaws I5 comprise parallel rods which are adapted toengage the gambrel portion of a cows leg as at L, shown in Figure 4. Itwill be noted that the cows tail T also shown (C1. IIS-105) in Figure 4is shown passing through the loop formed by the curved arms orintermediate portion 9. y

It is intended to form the clamp comprising the sections l, 9 and llifrom resilient springy material which will normally assume the positionshown in Figure 2 but which may be spread apart by means of a pair ofhandles i5 connected to the arms by rivets or other fastening means asat il. The free ends of the handles I6 are 10 arcuately curved as at i8to form iinger gripping portions.

By applying pressure to the free ends of the arms I as at iS, theiexible strap clamp will separate on the return bent portion ii as aulcrurn l and the i5 will separate as Well as the serrated jaws i. Inthis position, the clamp may be applied to the cows tail T so that thetail will pass through the loop formed by the curved arms 2 and the jawbars i5 may be placed in posi- 20 tion about the gambrel of the cows legL as shown in Figure 4. It will be noted that the milker will be able toapply the cow tail holder without touching the tail or the gambrelportion of the leg which is the usual custom in devices 25 of thisnature, and it has been found unsanitary due to the fact that the milkerwill milk the cow subsequent to the application of the clamp beforewashing his hands or otherwise sterilizing them.

t is also to be understood that the form of the invention herewith shownand described is to be taken as a preferred embodiment of the same andthat various changes in the shape, size and arrangement of parts may beresorted to with- 35 out departing from the spirit of the invention orthe scope of the sub-joined claim.

I claim:

In a cow-tail holder, a resilient sheet metal strip bent upon itself toprovide a pair of side 40 arms, the arms being directed towards eachother for point Contact, a pair of opposed outwardly arched portions inthe arms with the arms having point Contact between said arched portionsto provide a closed loop intermediate the ends of the arms and an endloop open at its outer end, the point contact of the arms between theclosed and open loops having the arm portions serrated to facilitategripping the hair of a cows tail, a right angularly extending rod at theouter end of each. arm at the outer loop providing a pair of cow-leggripping jaws and a handle carried by the outer side of each armadjacent the fold line of the strip constituting operating handles forseparating the points of contact of the normally closed resilient arms.

JOHN VAN DER MEULEN.

